Volunteers Needed for “Mitzvah Day”
Sunday, February 21
Registration deadline is February 12!
This community-wide event, offering hands-on help to local non-profits, is coordinated by the 11 congregations of the Synagogue Council of Sarasota-Manatee with support from The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.
(Sarasota-Manatee) The 11 congregations of the Synagogue Council of Sarasota-Manatee, with support from The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee (JFSM), are presenting the first annual Mitzvah Day, a community-wide initiative designed to assist local non-profit agencies. Volunteers are needed for more than a dozen projects, including sorting food donations at All Faiths Food Bank; organizing donated items for Family Promise and Mothers Helping Mothers; creating gift baskets for the JFCS Senior Outreach Program; stuffing gala invitations for Cat Depot; participating in a sing-a-long with the residents of Anchin Pavilion; serving snacks and interacting with guests at a Circus Arts Conservatory performance; and helping with grounds-keeping at Bay Preserve of the Conservation Foundation and Save our Seabirds. For more information and to register to volunteer, visit www.jfedsrq.org/way-sto-give/mitzvahday or call 941-927-3636. Space is limited; the registration deadline is February 12.
Laurie Lachowitzer, president of the Synagogue Council of Sarasota, explains that projects will be available for all ages and levels of abilities. “The response to Mitzvah Day has exceeded our greatest expectations,” she says. “We thought it might be a challenge to find agencies that would want helpers on a Sunday but that was not the case. More and more groups are eager to be a part of this inaugural effort. We invite members of the Jewish community and beyond to join us in this community-wide volunteer effort!”
According to Lachowitzer, the non-profits selected for this Mitzvah Day include Community Haven, Mothers Helping Mothers, Nate’s Place, Salvation Army, Save Our Seabirds, Anchin Pavilion, FL Center for Early Childhood, Family Promise, Cat Depot, Resurrection House, All Faiths Food Bank and Jewish Family and Children’s Service.
Lachowitzer explains that Mitzvah Day also includes a collection drive.
“We’re collecting diapers, books for preschoolers, white athletic socks for men, travel-sized toiletries, pop-top cans of ready-to-eat food, non-perishable food items and fun items for gift baskets for seniors, including notepaper, lotions, and word game books,” she says, adding that there will be a drop-off place for donations at a kick-off breakfast on Sunday, February 21, at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Avenue, Sarasota. Volunteer check-in is at 8:30 a.m. Light bites will be served and there will be a short program before volunteers go off to their projects.
“Helping the needy in our community is paramount to our mission,” says Howard Tevlowitz, JFSM’s executive director. “We’re delighted to partner with the Synagogue Council of Sarasota-Manatee on this very worthy project.”
About the Synagogue Council of Sarasota-Manatee
The Synagogue Council is a consortium of 11 mainstream area congregations that work together to develop and maintain relationships, foster communication and coordinate programs and events between themselves and within the Jewish community. It strives to strengthen the Jewish community and encourage affiliation. For more information, call 941-927-3636 or visit www.SynagoguesSarasotaManatee.org.
About The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to save Jewish lives and enhance Jewish life in the Sarasota-Manatee region, in Israel, and throughout the world. In addition, the Federation is responsive when worldwide catastrophes occur. For more information, call 941-371-4546 or visit www.jfedsrq.org.
